Elemenia School Of Magicks
by Chelley Angel
Summary: Chapter 5! Yugi, Malik, and Ryou all go to Elemenia School of Magicks for the Gifted. When you add a certain three more people, life at school gets interesting. YYY BR MM
1. Default Chapter

**Hi, this is Chelley Angel here! I hope you like this fic. Just a note though, things you really should know:  
  
Aeromancer: Air, wind, and flying, specializing in spell-casting. I got the name from the word "aeroplane". I'm so weird.  
  
Aquamancer: Water, ice, swimming, specializing in healing. I got the name from lots of words! "Aquamarine", "Aquarium"......  
  
Pyromancer: Fire, lightning, heating, specializing in attack magic. I got the name from the word "pyromaniac". My friend is one, actually. LOL  
  
Geomancer: Earth, plants, growing, specializing in potions. I got the name from the word "geology", among others.  
  
Aeromancers and Aquamancers have a connection through the weather.  
  
"_Magi_": Word for magic user.  
  
Aeromancer: Yugi  
  
Aquamancer: Ryou  
  
Pyromancers: Yami, Mariku (the Yami)  
  
Geomancers: Bakura (the Yami), Malik (the almost sane one)  
  
WARNING: this story will most definitely be YAOI! Yugi/Yami, Ryou/Bakura, Malik/Mariku. If you're homophobic, please don't read this. Otherwise, enjoy!**

****

**------------**

Ryou was bored. Very bored. _Extremely_ bored, even. His brothers, Yugi and Malik, were both off doing something; Yugi was probably in the library, and Malik was probably off on the motorcycle their "parents" had bought him at Christmas.  
  
Yugi and Malik weren't Ryou's _real_ brothers. Rather, they had all been adopted by a rather old, rich couple who hadn't bothered to have children because the woman was "scared to death" of childbirth. They didn't want their billions to go to waste, though, and their power-hungry relatives would no doubt have blown it all away on gambling.  
  
Their mother apparently had a brother who had followed his big sister's example and adopted 3 children as well. However, Ryou, Malik, and Yugi had never met them. Ryou didn't particularly want to, either. Their Uncle Shadi was a bit... odd. His wife, Isis, was Malik's actual sister, so instead of calling her "Aunt", he called her "sister", or just plain "Isis". It got a bit confusing sometimes. Ryou still didn't understand how Uncle Shadi and his mother had been born 40 years apart. He rolled his eyes just thinking about it. _We've got wacky grandparents,_ he thought wryly.  
  
Ryou was interrupted from his trip down Memory Lane as the door banged open and Malik burst in, hair, clothes, and shoes wet from the rain outside.  
  
"Dear _Ra_, Ryou," he groaned, seeing Ryou sitting in the windowsill and staring outside. "Go _do_ something! Don't just sit there all day!"  
  
Ryou sighed, and turned his head towards Malik, grimacing as he saw the growing puddle on the floor. He hated seeing water going to waste. He met Malik's lavender eyes squarely with his chocolate brown ones.  
  
"If you must know, I was _meditating_," he said, glaring at the tanned blonde. "Like we're all supposed to, if we have the time, _not _running around on motorcycles."  
  
Malik attempted to look innocent, and failed miserably. His face split in a wide grin. "Oh come off it, Ryou! You need some fun in your life!" He paused, and looked around. "Say, where's Yugi?" He sighed at Ryou's shrug. "You were so deep in meditation that you went to Spiritheart?"  
  
Malik spoke of a dimension in the universe that was purely magical. It was a whole other world, one with a different geography and everything, where only the strongest _magi _could go. The stronger your soul and spirit and heart were, the stronger you were there. A person with strong magic could be on his deathbed in the physical world, but a healthy Lord in Spiritheart. It all depended.  
  
The trio's adoptive parents were nobility in Spiritheart as well; sometimes they couldn't _believe_ their luck! The King of Spiritheart was a permanent king, though. King Set was a God, and no mortal could overthrow Him.  
  
"How is Spiritheart?" Malik asked suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled in the room. He emerged from the bathroom where he had grabbed a towel and irritably started to dry his sopping hair. Ryou had turned back to watching the raindrops sliding down the window.  
  
"Oh, it's fine," he murmured. "No rain there. Bright, sunny." He spared Malik a sideways look. "Perfect for motorcycling," he smiled.  
  
"That's _great_!" Malik shouted, punching a fist in the air. "So what are we waiting for?"  
  
Ryou moved to rest his forehead on the cool plane of glass, muttering a short prayer to Ra for patience under his breath. "Maaaaalik," he half sighed, half whined. "We're _all _going to Spiritheart today, remember? We're visiting Mother and Father, and Uncle Shadi and Isis might even come, as well as our..." Ryou trailed off. "Cousins."  
  
Malik calmed down slightly. "Oh yeah. Don't _worry_, Ryou! I'm sure they'll be relatively sane! I mean, even if Shadi's a bit" he paused, searching for the right word, "_vague_ sometimes, my sister's sane, after all!"  
  
Ryou relaxed slightly. Not only was Isis sane, she also had Shadi completely whipped. That was comforting, in a weird kind of way. Malik saw Ryou's tense muscles relax, and sighed inwardly in relief.  
  
The door banged open again, and Yugi stepped in. He yelped as he walked into the puddle Malik had made earlier. Malik burst out laughing and Ryou turned his head towards the window so that all Yugi could see was his snowy white hair, and not his smiling face.  
  
"Oh stop that," Yugi snapped, but the other two could hear the underlying humor. "Malik, do you _have_ to make these messes?" He shook his head as Malik opened his mouth to answer "yes". "Don't answer that!" Malik shut his mouth and smirked.  
  
Ryou, having gotten his face back under control, turned back around again, this time fully, so that his back rested on the window pane. He brought his knees p against his chest and wrapped his arms around them. His brown eyes twinkled with laughter. "You have to agree that your face was a picture, though, Yugi."  
  
"Mmf," Yugi mumbled, his face buried in the pillow he had picked up.  
  
"Aaaah..." Malik nodded, mock-wisely. "Your intelligent answer stuns us all, Master Yugi, aaaaah...." He ducked neatly as the pillow flew over his head, revealing Yugi's pouting pink face.  
  
"Shut up, Malik," he growled. "I wasn't the one who spilled it in the first place! Would someone please clean it up?" he added as an afterthought.  
  
Ryou yawned and nodded. "I'll do it, I'll do it." He flapped a hand at the puddle. "Shoo, you," he muttered. The water evaporated. That done, he glanced over at where Malik lay sprawled on the floor, and snickered. Another puddle was forming under him, as he had forgotten to change into dryer clothes. Yugi followed his gaze, and squeaked as he tried to keep his laughter inside. Malik's eyes opened lazily again, and he tilted his head curiously. "What's so funny?"  
  
"N-nothing," Yugi managed, purple eyes wide with mirth.  
  
"I quite agree, nothing," Ryou nodded. He now sat cross-legged, though still on his windowsill. His fingers crossed themselves behind his back. "Truly."  
  
"Just what the hell is so damn funny?!" Malik half-shouted, pushing himself up and freezing when his hands met water. His eyes closed in horror, and when he opened them again, he found Ryou's eyes streaming with tears, and Yugi bent over double.  
  
"Y-your face!" Ryou gasped out a good few moments later. "If Yugi's face was a picture, yours was...a ....a photograph!" He dissolved again into helpless laughter. And all Malik could do was glare from the center of his puddle.  
  
"Yugi, was it really that bad?" he asked in a puppy-ish voice after a pause, a voice that begged Yugi to say that Ryou was lying. "Aw, c'mon....."  
  
When he got no answer from Yugi, he turned on Ryou. "Dear _Ra_, Ryou, a '_photograph_'?! Lame-o! 'Photograph'! '_Photograph_', I ask you.... Oh for Set's sake, stop _laughing_!"  
  
And they did. Eventually. Ah, yes, the key word. "Eventually".

------------------

"So why do we have to go meet these wackos again?" Mariku asked Bakura for at least the hundredth time. The latter growled in frustration. 

"Because, Mariku," he said, his voice carefully polite, "They're our _cousins_." He paused. "Kind of." He paused again. Mariku snickered. "Oh for the love of------! As I _said_, because they're our _cousins_ and we haven't _met_ them before!"  
  
"Ohhh....." Mariku said, as if Bakura had just told him the secret to immortality. "Ooooh! Oooh! Ohhhh!"  
  
Bakura's eyes flashed. "MARIKU!" he snapped. All of a sudden, a knife appeared out of nowhere in Bakura's right hand, and he threw it at Mariku. It thudded into the wall a hair away from his ear, and quivered ominously.  
  
Mariku acted like nothing had happened. He jumped up from his chair and jumped around, and insane smile on his face. He had progressed to jumping and twirling in midair when all of a sudden he twirled into a black, leather wall. "Odd," he frowned, cocking his head to one side. "That wasn't there before....." he looked up into Yami's glowering face.  
  
Yami snorted. "All right, Bakura, how much sugar?" As he asked the question, his eyes roamed around the room, and came to rest on the knife embedded in the wall. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face.  
  
Bakura looked up from where he was twirling a golden dagger. "Oh......" he said innocently. His eyes grew guarded, though his voice remained light and chatty. "Sugar? Let me think, now....."  
  
"Bakura," Yami said impatiently.  
  
"Well all I'm going to get is another lecture," Bakura scowled, amber eyes sullen. "Just get it over with, then, will you?"  
  
Yami sighed. Why was Bakura choosing today of all days to be difficult? He dragged in a deep, steadying breath. "I will _not_ yell at you, Bakura. Even if I did, you wouldn't listen, and my voice would be wasted."  
  
Bakura grinned, light bouncing off sharp canines as well as the blur of gold in his hand. "Damn straight."  
  
Yami's hands balled into fists. Mariku continued to giggle maniacally. "Oh come on, Bakura," Yami snapped irritably. "Don't you have some potion that you could brew or crap to counteract the sugar? We have to LEAVE soon!"  
  
Bakura's face grew thoughtful as he tapped a finger against his chin. "it would taste like shit......"  
  
"I'll force it into him then," Yami grinned. "All the better."  
  
Bakura smirked, put the dagger away, and stood up. He stretched his arms above his head, and then retrieved his knife from the wall. He winced when he saw the gash in the wood. "Ouch," he muttered. A touch of magic made the wood fibers knit together again. "I'm off, then," he announced, turning away from the wall. He glanced at Mariku. "Keep him under control, Yami, please. At least keep him away from the wood."  
  
"Dear Ra, you said 'please'. Well since you asked so nicely, I'll try," Yami said dryly. "What we need is a water _magi_ to dump water on him when he goes crazy...."  
  
Bakura laughed. "And _you_ as well, stupid pyromaniacs."  
  
Yami glared. "I resent that!"  
  
Bakura shrugged nonchalantly. "Then resent it, who's stopping you?"  
  
He strode out of the room, side stepping a small fireball that he knew would follow him out.  
  
"Missed, Yami," he called behind him.  
  
"Daaaaaaamn....." came the faint answer.  
  
Bakura smirked, and continued his way down the dimly lit hall, his booted feet making no noise on the navy blue carpet. He turned into a room that emitted his own magical signature and sighed with relief as a wave of magic engulfed him and soothed his temper. He strode over to his desk and picked up a moonstone as large as his fist. It was the stone in which Bakura stored any of his extra power. It was also his "worry-stone". Whenever he was in an exceptionally bad temper, or was depressed, he did the mental exercise of shoving all of his emotions into the rock. His emotions, mixed with the compressed magic, had caused the power in the stone to grow. Now, the moonstone was nearly as powerful as Bakura himself was. He planned to use it if he was ever running low.  
  
Feeling refreshed, Bakura began conjuring up various herbs. As he began on the potion, several crashes from down the hall caused him to grin. _They can't live without me, can they?  
_  
"Ra dammit all, Bakura, we NEED THAT DUMBASS POTION!!" Bakura blanched. What had Mariku done _now_?! Yami was usually under control...!  
  
Putting a stopper in the mouth of his bottle, Bakura rushed back into the room, and choked at what he saw.  
  
"Fun-fun!" Mariku sang, flicking tongues of fire here and there. Yami was trying to put them all out. He glared at Bakura.  
  
"Thanks ever so for taking your sweet time!"  
  
"I did it as fast as I could, geez," Bakura muttered. "Now how do we get him to drink the potion?"  
  
Yami answered by tying Mariku up with ropes of flame; since Mariku was also a Pyromaniac – excuse me, Pyromancer – it didn't hurt him.  
  
"Maaaariku," Yami cajoled. "We have more Mountain Dew for you..." Mariku's eyes lit up.  
  
"More hyper-hyper juice?" he asked, sounding for all the world as if he were back to being five. Bakura groaned inwardly. Yami had to dredge up all of his self-control to not begin banging his head on the wall. He smiled "brightly".  
  
"More 'hyper-hyper juice', Mariku," he said in a sugary sweet voice. Bakura gagged.  
  
Mariku lurched against the fire, trying to get to the liquid. Yami shook his head and wagged a finger. "Tsk tsk, be patient," he grinned evilly.  
  
Bakura groaned, this time out loud, in anguish. "I'm out of here," he growled, and stalked out of the room, leaving behind a sulking Mariku and a taunting Yami. _And to think, Yami's usually the sanest of us all,_ he smirked.  
  
Instead of walking into his room, he stormed outside this time. He leapt lightly into a tree, and settled himself comfortably in its branches, his back leaning against the trunk. He closed his eyes and relaxed, surrounded by the plants in the garden and the smell of the air right after rain.

------------

Isis found him there half an hour later, a small smile appearing on her face when she found him asleep and so at peace. It wasn't often that Bakura allowed himself to lower his guards even the slightest bit.  
  
Isis and Shadi didn't think of Yami, Bakura, and Mariku as their sons; rather, they were all like younger brothers. Isis felt rather awkward when Ryou and Yugi called her "Aunt"; they were the same age as Malik was, and Malik actually _was_ her brother! And seeing as even Mariku, who was the youngest out of her "children", was a year older than Malik was, it seemed a joke for any of them to call her "Mother". So they didn't.  
  
Isis jerked herself from those thoughts, and tilted her head up so that she could see Bakura. "Bakura," she called softly. His eyes fluttered open, his emotional blocks almost visibly sliding back into place. Isis half-smiled when she saw him stifle a yawn.  
  
"Time?" he asked, voice raspy from sleep. At Isis' nod, he leapt lightly out of the tree, and landed with a barely audible thump beside her. He started off back to the house, and Isis followed, all done in a companionable silence. Or at least, as companionable as you got with Bakura.  
  
Remembering something, Bakura started to say, "Where are....."  
  
Isis cut him off. "Training room," she said, a rare snicker in her voice. Bakura's eyes lit up, and he licked his lips hungrily as if tasting the heat of battle. Isis smacked him lightly over the top of his head, bringing him back to earth. When he glared at her, she returned the favor with an icy stare. "We're going to Spiritheart, _remember_?" she hissed at him.  
  
"Oh!" Bakura was startled out of their glaring/staring contest, feeling stupid. "Just testing you," he muttered, thanking all the gods that he didn't blush easily. Isis replied with a skeptical "mmhmm....."  
  
They turned from the hallway into a room from which crashes and curses could be heard for yards around it. There they found Yami and Mariku both locked in concentration, fighting each other with both flames as well as martial arts. The warding spells around the training floor formed a large silvery bubble of magic that the flames couldn't escape.  
  
Bakura struck a lazy pose, leaning against the doorframe, and started clapping slowly and lazily. "Beautiful, beautiful fight. Now if we may interrupt this _gorgeous_ battle, let's leave then, shall we?"  
  
Yami and Mariku both turned towards Bakura that promised death for interrupting.  
  
"I was going to _kill_ him, Bakura! You're supposed to be on _my_ side!"  
  
"Ha, Mariku, what a joke! _You_, beat _me_?! Keep dreaming!"  
  
Bakura only laughed slowly, drawing the sound out. Ah yes, just another ordinary day.

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**Did you like? If you did, please review. If you didn't, please review anyways. I want to know what you didn't like so I can fix it. Thank you for taking the time to read this! 5 reviews and I'll update.  
  
Chelley Angel**


	2. Nice to Meet You

**Hello, it's me again! I decided to update at 4 reviews because they were all so encouraging... thank you so much! A few things to keep in mind in this chapter:  
  
Ryou and Malik are so protective of Yugi because he's the youngest out of them (Malik's the oldest) and they're used to it. They don't want to see him hurt.  
  
While _magi _are on highs, the sugar, or chocolate, or whatever they're on, is what the _magi's_ magic feeds off of, not the _magi's_ energy as it normally does. So when Mariku was tossing flames around, and Yami had to "clean up" after him, Yami's magic drained a little, while Mariku felt nothing.  
  
You may feel that Ryou, Malik, and Yugi are a little sheltered. Well, they are. Their "parents" wanted to keep them safe, and well, a little blind to the horrors of the world. They are not experienced with death. However, Isis and Shadi believe that no one should be kept in the dark, and expose Bakura, Mariku, and Yami to just about anything.  
  
Oh, and by the way, I forgot to do a disclaimer last time. I do not own Yu- Gi-Oh!, but the plotline of this fanfiction is mine. Please don't steal.  
  
Thank you!  
**

****

  
  
"They're late," Bakura muttered, pacing around the large marble hall. Dark clouds gathered outside the glass ceiling.  
  
"Mm," Mariku agreed from his seat. "And Isis said they were usually on time. _We_ were 5 minutes late; so where are they?"  
  
"They'll come," Isis said quietly. "Sooner or later."  
  
"Something's wrong, though," Yami frowned. "I can feel it."  
  
"Something _very_ wrong," Shadi agreed. "Someone's emotions are fluctuating out of control... who taught them how to _focus_? They need a review. Maybe two."  
  
All of a sudden, thunder crashed, and rain started to fall with horrible violence. Looking up at the transparent ceiling, Yami shuddered. The rain seemed to come straight down at them, seemingly out of nowhere. As a pyromancer, he had never really liked the rain much. Snow was all right; he could melt it into puddles. But rain always gave him the sensation of being melted by _it_. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.  
  
"This isn't natural," Isis murmured, looking up as well. "It came out of nowhere. Magic caused this...."  
  
A miniature earthquake rocked the hall before Bakura grabbed it with his own power. "Nope, _definitely_ not natural. You were right, Shadi. It's emotion fueled."  
  
"And did you realize," Mariku put in suddenly, "that while there is thunder, there is no lightning?"  
  
Turning pale – how was that possible? – Yami reached out with his own magic to find the lightning that had to be there, and found nothing.  
  
"The air's splitting by itself," he gasped. "Th-that's not _possible_ ..." **(A/N: Thunder is when lightning splits the air)  
**  
But it seemed it was.

**(Quick A/N: Lady Denirah is an OC, but I wanted to stick with original characters, so, well, this is how it turned out. It also helps the romance part of the plot along... heck, the WHOLE plot! So you'll see!)**

****  
  
15 minutes before the others were to arrive, Yugi, Malik, and Ryou walked into the Marble Hall. They didn't expect to find their "father", Lord Sogoroku (sp?), waiting for them there with a grave expression, cheeks stained with recent tears. As he was an aeromancer, the air sensed his mood and seemed to press down on them heavily as they walked towards him.  
  
"What's wrong?" Malik asked, genuine concern in his voice.  
  
"She," the old man said, voice cracking. "Sh-she..." he stopped, and swallowed hard. They waited for him to regain his composure, the seconds dragging by like hours. He finally looked up once more, and spoke 2 words that made their blood freeze: "Denirah's dying."  
  
It took a while for their brains to process what he had said. Ryou's mind comprehended its meaning first. "Mother..." he whispered, in a voice that had gone dry with horror. "_NO_!" he cried out, suddenly furious. "She's an aquamancer, her body can heal itself! _I_ can heal her; take me to her! _Why are you not doing anything?_!"  
  
"You three, _hearken to me_." There was so much compressed force and power in those words that they did. "I'll transport us over, but on no account are any of you going to try to heal her. No _spells_," he glanced at Yugi, "or _herbs_," at Malik, "or _pure healing_, either!" at Ryou. "Do you know _why_ she's dying? There's a new disease going around, one that affects both _mind and body_."  
  
"Both mind.. and.... body..." Yugi stuttered. Diseases either drained your magic or made you sick, not both! This wasn't possible!  
  
"She's the chief healer in this area of Spiritheart, so they called on her to heal the first of these patients. As soon as her magic so much as brushed over the patient to see what was wrong, the disease spread to her, draining her magic and shutting down her heart in less than 10 seconds. The person she was trying to heal smiled, got up, and left." Sogoroku's hands turned into fists. "It was all planned. It strikes healers, mostly, but an aeromancer who tried a healing spell, and a geomancer who tried healing herbs are in the same condition."  
  
That said, he gave them no warning before he wrapped his magic around them, and muttered a transportation spell.  
  
They reappeared in the hospital, or rather, the "Healing Center for Magickal Ailments", at their mother's bedside. They must have been here a thousand times, to watch Lady Denirah work, Ryou helping occasionally, and learning.  
  
Denirah managed a weak smile at them. "I'm almost gone," she whispered. "I love you all. Sogoroku, under our bed, the loose floorboard.... My will is there. Tell Yami, Mariku, and Bakura, and Shadi and Isis, that I'm sorry I didn't get to say good-bye, and that I love them. You three, Yugi, Malik, Ryou," her voice caressed each name, "You are more special to me than you will ever know. After I... leave, take my soul, before it disappears, and split it amongst you, so that I'll always be with you. Leave now, for a minute, while I talk to my Lord..."  
  
They obeyed her, mute with love, sorrow, and admiration. To not want her soul to go to eternal happiness... to want it to stay with _them_... it was truly the greatest sacrifice anyone could have ever made.  
  
Moments later, they were recalled to her. "A few seconds left... don't forget, tell Shadi and your cousins.... I love you three, and Sogoroku, you four are the lights and loves of my life..." and then she was gone. Her soul, a glowing sphere of bright purple for her, floated out of her chest. Ryou grabbed at it, and it willingly split itself into thirds, and dissolved inside each person.  
  
"Oh Ra, she's gone..." Malik whispered, full and total realization smacking him in the face. He sank to the floor. "No, no, no...."  
  
All of his earlier meditation and control lessons going out the window, Ryou's magic leapt free of its barriers and wreaked havoc in the atmosphere, brewing a storm. Yugi, letting loose a howl of anguish, set his magic free as well, the air splitting with the magnitude of his sorrow and ire. A wind whipped Ryou's storm into a monstrosity.  
  
And it began to rain when Ryou began to cry, tears making tracks down a too pale face.  
  
"_Why_?" the wind shrieked, echoed by the thunder.  
  
"_Nonononono_," the rain chanted, a continuous mantra.  
  
The earth rolled and bucked has Malik's emotions finally escaped, roaring, a constant roar, no words, just a roar of pure torment.  
  
And Sogoroku Motou saw. And watched. Heartache ruled the room.  
  
When someone else latched onto Malik's earthquake, he growled in fury, knocking the interloper away. However, they were all beginning to come out of their respective blind rages. After 3 loud, earth-shaking crashes of thunder, each on each other's heels, Yugi collapsed in a heap on the floor. Ryou followed, the rain dissolving to a mist, and Malik reigned in his earthquake somewhat regretfully. The 3 huddled together, trying to find comfort. Sogoroku bent over his dead wife, kissed her a last time, and sat down in a chair beside the bed, eyes closing in weariness and grief.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, the 3 on the floor broke apart. Yugi whimpered at the loss of warmth. Ryou opened his arms, and Yugi collapsed against him, burying his head in the crook of his neck. Malik's arms folded around both of them, Ryou's head tilting to rest on his shoulder with a grateful sigh. Again, they clung together, like survivors of a shipwreck, not daring to move, not wanting ever to leave the reassurance that the other 2 brought.  
  
At last, Sogoroku broke the silence. "I'll be going back home now," he said, his voice a mere rasp from his tears. "You 3 go back to Elemenia. We'll meet in the Marble Hall next week. I'll have her..." his voice caught, but he plowed on determinedly, "her will."  
  
"All right," Yugi nodded. They all pretended they hadn't heard his voice tremble. "I-I'll put a preserving spell on her b-body..." He bit his quivering lower lip.  
  
"You go on home, Dad," Malik said, voice only a little hoarse. He had somehow managed to get himself back under control.  
  
"We'll go talk to Uncle Shadi, and Isis, you go and rest, we'll be fine,"  
  
Ryou assured him.  
  
After studying each of their faces intently, he nodded, and slowly disappeared.  
  
"We've got to get up," Ryou murmured regretfully.  
  
"5 more minutes, please," Yugi begged.  
  
Malik tried to grin. "Th-that's what you used to say when Mom tried to get you up when you were around 7... she'd always laugh..."  
  
Ryou's mouth twitched. "What do you mean, when Yugi was 7? He tried that on me yesterday!"  
  
Yugi grumbled unintelligibly.  
  
They got up, Yugi casting preservation spell with his eyes closed, not bearing to look. He turned to see the door that Malik held open, and then Ryou's outstretched hand, and felt better. They were all in this nightmare together.

"Yeah, Isis," Mariku yawned. "'They'll come, sooner or later.' How about much, much later?"  
  
"Be quiet," Bakura demanded crossly. "We still have to figure out who caused that storm, and the earthquake."  
  
"I can't believe you couldn't hold it, though," Yami mused.  
  
"It wasn't possible," Isis frowned at him. "The sheer sorrow in the earthquake was bad enough, but the fury of the _magi_ when Bakura tried to halt the earthquake made it worse."  
  
"Don't bait each other right now," Shadi added absently.  
  
They lapsed into silence once more. Mariku started a few moments later. "Someone's coming," he said.  
  
"And how did you know, _sir_?" Yami inquired, his voice too, too polite.  
  
Mariku rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Someone lit a fire, idiot, and if you would track the flame, it's coming in this direction." His brow furrowed. "What's wrong with your magic? It's not as alert as it should be."  
  
Yami growled. "While _somebod_y was _high_, I had to gather up all your flames, put them out, all at about 0.2 seconds each so that Bakura's precious _wood_ wouldn't burn! It was _so much fun_."  
  
"Heh... heh.... heh..."  
  
"Hmph."  
  
The doors crashed open. "I'm _sorry_, Malik! Really, I am! But what else could I _use_? And since it was... ah, broken off _already_, I didn't think that –"  
  
"No, you _didn't_ think! It was still _alive_, and I could have _regrown_ it, but_ noo_, Ryou! Grab it and use it as a torch. Noo, don't listen to _Malik_."  
  
Three boys came into view. They all looked a bit paler than was normal, and the arguing two didn't seem to be putting any heart into it; it seemed to be more of something to do than anything else.  
  
The spiky haired third boy, the silent one, bonked both of them on the heads, though he had to stand on tiptoe to manage this feat. "Would you both _shut up_ and stop faking your arguments?" he demanded. "Please? I know you're trying to make me feel better, but I'm tired and I have a headache, and you're making it _worse_!"  
  
The two shut up immediately.  
  
"So where are they?" the white-haired one asked, looking around.  
  
"I bet they left," the blonde muttered. "I'm going back to Elemenia to sleep, and you two can..." Two death glares made his mouth snap shut.  
  
Bakura wondered idly why they couldn't see them. They only had a slight invisibility spell on to discourage _magi_ bandits; if these three were half as powerful as Isis had said they were to be, they should be able to see them, no problem.  
  
Isis shed her cloaking spell and got up, concern written on her face. "Malik? What's wrong?"  
  
"Isis!" A flicker of some emotion passed over Malik's face, and he looked ruefully at his companions. "And I was the one asking that about half an hour ago..." his voice started to shake halfway through the sentence. A tear made it's way down his cheek, following the tracks of many before it, they saw. "And I thought I was all cried out... Yugi? Yugi, don't cry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything... don't cry, don't cry, please don't..."  
  
"Not your fault..." Amethyst eyes blinked tears away. "I'm-m fine... I thought I was cried out, too..."  
  
"Malik?! Yugi?! What's wrong, what happened?!" Worry made Isis' voice turn sharp. She turned to the white-haired boy. "Ryou?"  
  
He had been staring at the floor. Now he looked up, eyes swimming in tears that threatened to fall. "She's gone," he whispered.  
  
"Gone?" Shadi got up as well, and walked over to Isis and Ryou. "Who's gone? What? Did someone die in the storm?"  
  
At this, Ryou seemed to turn even paler. "Died... in the storm... Oh Ra, people could have died in the storm... no, no, NO! Why is this _happening_?!" He fell hard to the floor on his knees.  
  
Isis knelt beside him. "Who's gone, Ryou?"  
  
He choked out the word. "Mom..."  
  
Shadi's hands fisted. "You lie," you growled. "Tell me you like, Ryou, please..."  
  
Silence was his answer.  
  
"No," Shadi gasped, for once losing all his mystical appearance. "This... no... never... can't..."  
  
Yugi wailed, a heart-breaking sound. "_Why did she have to die?!"_  
  
"Sh, Yugi, don't cry, we'll make it through this... don't... cry... why... look, they rhyme..." Malik said the first thing that came to mind, not caring if it made sense or not.  
  
"I should have been there! I could have helped!" Ryou cried. "I could have been there instead, I could have tried to heal the person, I could have died instead of her, why her?"  
  
"NO." A hand gripped his chin, and forced him to look up into a face that looked uncannily like his own. "Don't start to blame yourself. Cry, blame other people, but not yourself. Later, you'll realize how sorry your blame sounds." Startled, Ryou obeyed unconsciously. But tears still dripped down his face in floods.  
  
Bakura couldn't watch them suffer anymore. He couldn't. So Aunt Denirah had died... and these three were not accustomed to death. "Don't _stop_ crying. It helps."  
  
Bakura released Ryou's chin, and was about to get up and leave when a small, timid voice stopped him. "P-please don't leave... I don't want you to go, would you stay?" Brown eyes looked up, so full of hope that Bakura's heart ached. "I'll be good, I promise...."  
  
Bakura folded Ryou into a hug, letting the younger boy snuggle into his chest, head pillowed against his shoulder without a word.  
  
Yami and Mariku watched, fascinated. It was quite obvious to them that someone had taken the real Bakura captive, and replaced him with this person.  
  
"Um, wait," Mariku said suddenly.  
  
Yami looked sideways at him, annoyed. "What?"  
  
Mariku jerked his head at Malik and Yugi. "I get the blonde, you get Spikey."

Yugi had fallen asleep in Yami's lap; Malik sat between Mariku's legs, his back against Mariku's chest; and Ryou still clung tightly to Bakura, while Shadi held a trembling Isis.  
  
"So," Mariku asked quietly. "Do _you_ know who caused that storm? They must have been pretty powerful _magi_ to whip _that_ up..."  
  
"Er, actually," Malik flushed. "That, ah, in fact..."  
  
"That was us," Ryou admitted, his voice muffled, his face being buried in Bakura's shoulder.  
  
"_What?!" _Yami yelped, before looking down sheepishly at the sleeping Yugi. "But... the thunder..."  
  
"That was Yugi," Malik said. "He's an aeromancer. We never told you, did we? I'm a geomancer, and Ryou there's an aquamancer."  
  
"We _did _have an interesting meeting, didn't we?" Bakura asked wryly.  
  
"Bakura, Mariku, and Yami."  
  
"Ryou, Malik, and Yugi."  
  
"Nice to meet you."

**I hoped you liked it! Please review. I love you all!**


	3. Death's Realizations

**Whew, ok! This chapter is kind of filler, I suppose, but it's useful. Very, very useful. Things to keep in mind:  
  
I love how Jou talks. I really do. But I find that whenever authors try to write out his accent, it always ends up either butchered or perfect. I wasn't about to try and butcher it on accident, so please just imagine that he has his accent.  
  
I am quite aware that some of the characters are OOC. I'll try to keep them more in character, but well, this is a FANfiction. I'll do the best I can.  
  
Also, I have a few ideas about a YGO/HP fic. Do you all think I should post it up??  
**

Sunday dragged by. Ryou dove into his homework like a madman, desperate for something to keep his mind occupied. Yugi paced around their dorm, wandering the halls, worrying everyone. Hardly anyone caught a glimpse of Malik, who's motorcycle was feeling severely abused.  
  
Their friends worried. None of them had said a word to any of them when they came back from Spiritheart on Saturday, the day before. And now they were acting like a robot, a ghost, and a...what could a person who rode non- stop on his motorcycle be called?  
  
Shizuka knocked on the dorm-room the three shared for the umpteenth time, sighing when she heard nothing. "Ryou, I know you're in there. Please come out," she pleaded.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Nondanga-sensei just posted something up on the bulletin board, don't you want to see?" she coaxed.  
  
Silence.  
  
Sighing again, Shizuka turned away from the door and walked back to the one she shared with her brother. His head snapped up as she walked in.  
  
"Anything?" he asked hopefully.  
  
"No," she replied, worried amber eyes meeting his identical pair. "What do you think happened?"  
  
"I d'no... hey what did the sign on the B-board say, anyways? Nondanga-sensei said I had to get my lazy ass up and see for myself, stupid piece of shit..."  
  
"Jou!" Shizuka cried, tone admonishing.  
  
His face colored. "S'ry..."  
  
Unable to be angry with him for long, Shizuka smiled. "I know you are. Well apparently, we have a few new students transferring here tomorrow. They were originally home-schooled, and are transferring for 'family reasons'. They'll be here tomorrow."  
  
"Names?"  
  
Shizuka fidgeted, unhappy that she couldn't satisfy her brother's question. "I... I didn't see any, but I can go check if you want me to."  
  
"S'ok, sis," Jou told her, keeping exasperation from his voice. He hated it when she blamed herself for things she couldn't control. "No one expects you to be perfect."  
  
She still looked uncomfortable. "Are you sure? I could go downstairs and look again, it's no problem, really..."  
  
Jou looked at her sternly, though his eyes danced with amusement. "Katsuya Shizuka, as your elder and most honored and respected brother," he began, his voice falsely pompous as she began to giggle, "I command you to see how perfect and wonderful you already are." His tone gentled as he added, "If it didn't say their names, it wasn't your fault. And I'm so lucky to have a sister like you, Shizuka."  
  
The named person blushed at that, slipping her arms around her brother's neck in a light hug. "I'm the one who's _lucky_, Jou," she whispered to him. She turned her head slightly so that she could kiss his cheek. "I love you."  
  
Jou's mouth twitched into a grin. "Yeah, same here," he said softly.  
  
Neither noticed the small ghost who had caught the last part of this touching scene. He slipped away noiselessly, pearly white teeth shining in a smile for the first time in a day.  
  
  
  
Malik drove, and drove, and drove. He didn't know where he was; frankly, he didn't give a flying fuck. He had worked his mind into a complete blank, lavender eyes losing their shine. He wore no helmet.  
  
Unlike the day before, it was sunny. Out of the blurs of color around him, Malik could hear happy shouts and laughter. His knuckles whitened as he clutched tighter at the handlebars.  
  
He knew that the others were anxious. Kaiba Seto hadn't even dissed him as Malik passed him in the hall, and that action, or _lack_ of action, was a miracle in itself. Instead of calling him the usual endearments as she called _everyone_, Valentine Mai had called him _by name_. Oh yes, they were worried sick.  
  
However, only a small fraction of Malik's mind realized this. The rest of his brain was numb, and knew only one thing: drive... drive... faster...  
  
All of a sudden, the motorcycle slowed. Glancing down, Malik swore. He was out of gas. Muttering darkly in Arabic under his breath, he got off and walked it to the side of the road. Looking around, he realized her _really_ had no idea where he was. Surrounding the road on both sides was a dark forest. Malik inhaled the scent of the earth gratefully, letting it settle his ruffled nerves.  
  
He laid his motorcycle gently on its side, and sat down next to it, leaning his back on the prickly bark of a tree, its soothing ancient presence comforting him.  
  
He smiled wryly as an unbidden memory sprang into his mind. When he had first gotten the motorcycle, he had promised to take care of it. _And look where I am now_, he thought bitterly. _Another promise broken.  
_  
All three of them had forgotten to tell Shadi, Isis, and their cousins Denirah's message. So far, only Malik had noticed. _And maybe Ryou_, he frowned thoughtfully. He growled angrily. _I can't do fucking anything right.  
_  
"_Who are you_?" A whispery voice asked. Malik jerked upright.  
  
"You first," he said, glancing around warily.  
  
"_The tree spirit is I, and I am it_," the voice answered. Malik rolled his eyes. Tree spirits always liked to speak in riddles. "_Your emotions are hurting me, young geomancer_."  
  
Startled, Malik looked at the tree he had been leaning on. It was the middle of spring, but the tree's leaves had turned a deadened, ugly brown.  
  
Mortified, Malik gasped. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean – I didn't know – I didn't –"  
  
The tree spirit seemed to laugh. "_It's all right, as long as you fix the damage. What is troubling you, young geomancer_?"  
  
Malik's magic seeped through the tree, restoring it to its rightful state, as he answered. "My mom... well, kind of... anyways, she's dead." He hated his voice for sounding so matter-of-fact, even a little nonchalant. Where had his vocal emotions run off to, when he was bleeding inside?  
  
"_Oh_?" Sounding genuinely interested, one of the tree's branches twined around the geomancer and sat him amidst the tree's high, leafy boughs. "_Tell me_."  
  
  
  
Ryou was five and a half chapters ahead of the rest of the class in Magickal Theory. If this kept up, he might even surpass Kaiba Seto. At this thought, he paused; no wait, that was impossible.  
  
Shizuka seemed to have given up. She hadn't come by in 45 minutes, while it was usually every 15. Picking up his pen again, Ryou frowned at the textbook. He had lost his concentration.  
  
Yawning, he threw the pen back down and stood up, stretching his arms above his head. The clock on his desk read 4:51:36. He had been working for almost 11 full hours.  
  
As he flopped down onto his bed, he idly wondered where Yugi and Malik had gone. He hadn't seen them all day. _Same thoughts as yesterday_, he thought resentfully, a drastic change from his usual quiet and serene self.  
  
Yugi couldn't be at the library; Denirah had loved libraries, and Yugi would probably boycott it for at least a week if a miracle didn't happen. But Malik could very well be motorcycling again. The day was sunny, after all.  
  
Ryou felt cold, numb, and empty. No matter how many layers of clothing he put on, no matter how much he sweated, he still felt icy. He could almost swear there was a black hole somewhere in his heart, threatening to suck out his remaining feelings and emotions. He felt, to put it quite honestly, dead. Or perhaps _un_dead, seeing as he was still breathing.  
  
He needed something to do. No more schoolwork, though, and no one at Elemenia had chores. His eyes fell on the bookcase in the corner.  
  
A few minutes later, he found himself back on his bed with a number of photo albums. But he was too scared to open one. Finally, summoning all of his inner strength, he reached out and flipped a cover aside.  
  
There he was, age 4, standing with Yugi, Malik, and Denirah. Ryou held on to her hand, while Yugi clutched at her skirt. Denirah's other hand ruffled Malik's sandy locks while the boy beamed.  
  
The next picture: The boys were now about 7, Sogoroku teaching them how to meditate. Yugi had fallen asleep, Malik had his eyes open and was staring blankly at the ceiling, clearly bored, and Ryou had one eye closed and the other open, squinting at the camera.  
  
As Ryou flipped through the albums, the weight he had felt on his heart grew lighter. _I can't dwell on the past_, he realized. _She'd want me to live for the future_.  
  
And then he realized that the day before, when Bakura had told him not to blame himself... he had been _right_. He realized how stupid his reasons had sounded as his own voice rang through his mind distantly: "_I could have died instead_..."  
  
Shaking himself from his thoughts once more, he lay down amidst the albums and sighed as a wave of relief so strong that it could have knocked him over washed through him. _Thank you Ra, for helping me understand...  
_  
  
  
Yugi hurried back to his, Malik, and Ryou's room, anxious to tell one of them of his revelation. Watching Shizuka and Jou, he had realized that even though they had no parents, their love for each other was enough.  
  
Likewise, Yugi felt ashamed that he had never really realized how Ryou and Malik were always there for him. They always tried to give _him_ the best, and took the worse for themselves. He had taken them for granted. But that, Yugi decided, was going to change. When Denirah had died, he had felt that his source of comfort was gone. But now, he found that Ryou and Malik had been there all along. He had to go thank them. Very, very much.  
  
  
  
After Malik's tale was told, the tree was quiet for a while. "_Ah_," it said finally. "_I see_."  
  
"But you know what?" Malik asked suddenly. "It's not that I don't miss her, tree, but I feel so much better now."  
  
"_And do you know why, young geomancer_?" the tree asked. "_Because you told me how you felt inside. You are so used to being the strong one that you keep your feelings fully hidden. Why_?"  
  
Malik opened his mouth to answer, but no sound emerged. "I don't know," he finally admitted.  
  
"_Do you think your 'brothers' would laugh? Is that it_?"  
  
"No!" Malik cried, immediately defensive. "They would _never_ –"  
  
"_Then speak, young geomancer_."  
  
Malik grew silent again, pondering, turning thoughts over in his head. At last, he spoke hesitantly, "Like you said, I'm used to being the 'strong' one, and it... feels nice to be depended on, to be _needed_, you know? And-and it I let them know my feelings, they would get worried, and I don't want that."  
  
"_Wouldn't they worry more if they knew you were doing this? Would they not love for **you** to depend on them for once? Would they not love to help you? Are you scared to depend on someone other than yourself? You are destroying yourself, young geomancer, if you take all the burden for yourself and never share it_."  
  
Malik wished the tree hadn't raised all these points that he had no arguments against. He groaned as a thought hit him. "I've got to get back to Elemenia," he grumbled. He started to climb out of the tree's branches, then paused. "Thanks," he said quietly. "Thanks a lot."  
  
"_I will always be here, young geomancer_."  
  
Malik pulled his motorcycle upright, and reached out magically until he could feel the sun-bright collection of magic that was his school.  
  
As he walked away, the tree spirit's last sentence echoed in his mind: "_I will always be here, young geomancer_."  
  
"_Crap_!" he shouted to the sky, lavender eyes narrowing. "I forgot to answer its _first_ question! I forgot to tell it my name!"  
  
But all he could do was shake his head angrily and keep walking if he wanted to be back at Elemenia by dark.  
  
  
  
Yugi ran into the trio's room, stopping at Ryou's bed where the other boy was sprawled amidst photo albums, a happy smile on his tear-stained face. He looked up as Yugi came in, and immediately noticed Yugi's grin as well.  
  
"You know," Ryou began.  
  
"Somehow," Yugi beamed, understanding.  
  
"I feel so much better!" Malik finished from the door, not knowing he was finishing anything at all. The other two burst out laughing.  
  
Laughter bubbled up in each of them. Denirah's death would never be _completely_ gotten over, but they had each reached their own states of understanding and acceptance.  
  
"So what happened to _you_?" Yugi asked, wrinkling his nose at Malik's mud, bark, and leaf stained clothes.  
  
Malik gently sat himself cross-legged on the floor, as Ryou peered over the edge of the bed at him. Yugi plopped down on the bed next to him, and both looked curiously at Malik, expectancy for a good story shining in their eyes. Malik was a master storyteller.  
  
"Well," Malik grinned, "There was this tree..."  
  
  
  
"Yami, where's my shirt?" Mariku demanded, storming into his room. "You borrowed it last week and I never got it back!"  
  
Yami glanced up from where he was carefully packing up his collection of half-completed puzzles. An eyebrow arched as he asked, "Was it black, with red and orange flames on it?"  
  
"Yes!" Mariku roared agitatedly. "Where _is it_?!"  
  
Yami returned calmly to packing. "Go away."  
  
"_What_?!"  
  
"What kind of shit do you have in place of a brain, Mariku?" Yami demanded.  
  
"What exactly do you mean by that, my dear dear brother?" Poison dripped from Mariku's words.  
  
Yami got up and pushed Mariku out the door.  
  
"You're wearing it," he informed him, before slamming the door in his face.  
  
Mariku turned and walked dazedly down the hall. "Whoops..." he muttered.  
  
"_ISIS_!" Bakura's shout shook Mariku out of his stupor as he ran past. "_ISIS_! You took my favorite dagger yesterday! Give it back!"  
  
An answering shriek came from the other end of the house. "I took it with good reason! If you want it back, you'll swear not to kill anyone at Elemenia!"  
  
"Ok!" Bakura yelled back at once. Mariku saw him grin sadistically and shook his head.  
  
"Isis, you idiot," he muttered. "Now he's only going to mortally wound them, not give them a quick, painless death."  
  
  
  
10:46:27 saw three cloaked figures standing at Elemenia School of Magick's Silver Gates.  
  
"We're here," said one, with hair that matched the Gates.  
  
"Mm," the one on the right agreed, blonde hair ruffling in the breeze.  
  
"Think they'll be surprised?" the middle on asked, meaning the school as a whole. If the school thought that they would be getting nice, obedient new students, then they sure as hell _would_ be. If anyone had looked closely, it might have seemed that 2 ruby eyes were floating in the black depths of the hood.  
  
"Oh, definitely," the other two agreed, the smirks on their faces reflected in their voices. "Shall we?"  
  
  
  
**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. It means a lot!**


	4. Rain Again

**Hello again, all! My teachers are insane. Insane, I tell you. It's a conspiracy to give all of us so much homework that we aren't able to get online, meaning we die, slowly and in terrible agony.**

**Anyways. Here's _finally_ my new chapter. I was a little disappointed with the reviews last time, or _lack_ of them, rather. Oh well. I'm not complaining. Really, I'm not.**

**Few things to keep in mind...**

**Kaiba Seto and Kaiba Mokuba are both aquamancers.**

**Kujaki Mai and Katsuya Shizuka are both aeromancers.**

**Kaiba Corp: This is not like Harry Potter. Technology is kept up with. Kaiba Corp exists. Seto is still a freaking genius.**

**Specialty: The first class of the day, where you meet with your fellow _magi_ that have the same type of magic as you do.**

**Breakfast: Menu pops up, you order, it appears. Kind of like in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.**

**Remember, I try to keep the OOCness down to a minimum, but it's HARD! Also remember that this is a fanfiction, I don't own the characters, but I _do_ own the plotline. This is also a _YAOI_ STORY!**

**That being said, enjoy!**

**Also, since fanfiction got rid of all the things I usually use for scene change... DAMMIT!**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

****

****

****

****

****

Yugi didn't understand how Ryou liked the rain. It was dull, repetitive, and boring, pounding down unmercifully and incessantly. Yugi could have sworn his ears were ringing with the noise. At least the gentle wind that accompanied the rain soothed his ruffled nerves.

****_Rain_, he thought tiredly. _Why is it always rain?! Yesterday was nice... Why didn't I go out—oh._ For a moment he had almost tricked himself into thinking that everything was all right.

Ryou's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Malik, are you done yet?" the white-haired boy called out impatiently. Ryou emerged from his room, a frown alien on his delicate face.

"You take more time than a _girl_ would, Malik!"

Yugi took in Ryou's outfit: A light blue casual shirt, and semi-baggy pants, with a light gold chain around his neck.

Yugi half-smiled. "My, someone looks nice," he teased.

Ryou flushed. "Good first impressions for the new students and all that," he mumbled to the floor. He looked up worriedly. "Should I go change? Is it too dressy? I thought the pants offset the shirt, but..."

"If I take as _long_ as a girl, you _worry_ like one," Malik announced, sauntering in. His lavender eyes sparkled with mischief as he struck a dramatic pose. "You like?" he asked.

A light violet tank top and black leather pants made Malik unbelievably good looking. Gold earrings dangled from his ears, swaying and gradually becoming still. A golden armband wrapped around his upper left arm, and 3 gold bands slipped around his neck.

However, unaffected, Yugi's mouth twitched into a smile as Ryou sighed, "Isn't that a bit much?"

"No, in fact, it isn't," Malik glared sulkily, for all the world 10 years old. "I look ravishing, and you just don't want to admit it."

Yugi couldn't help it. He giggled helplessly at Ryou's annoyance, and Malik's smug, self satisfied face.

"It's just too sad," Malik went on, his hand now clutching at his heart, "That he can't accept the fact that I'm a sex god and I'm too hot for my own good. It's really quite terrible, isn't it?"

Ryou choked. "_What_?!"

Malik grinned, triumphant. "Well, this god is dragging his bee-yoooo-tiful ass to breakfast before his gorgeous self is late. Would either of his... shall we say, _plainer_ servants care to join him?"

As Ryou sputtered something untranslatable, Yugi smirked a very un-Yugi-like smirk. "But Malik," he said, wide-eyed and innocent. "You, the oh-so-powerful god... you surely don't need _us!_ I bet you don't even need us to make a shield for you against all the rain. I'm sure the rain drops will avoid wetting your royal.... Sexiness..." he made a face.

Malik gulped. Being an aeromancer, Yugi could simply make a screen of air. Ryou, of course, could just ask the rain not to wet him. Malik, though... Malik couldn't do anything.

"Well, Malik," Ryou said in a sing-song voice, "Yugi and I will just be going now to er... clear the way for your Highness." He snickered slightly. "See ya, Malik!"

"No! DUDE! You can't do this to me!" Malik shrieked.

"Bye-bye!" Yugi's voice sounded echoey from how it carried from down the hall.

"Why is it always me?" Malik asked the ceiling pitifully. The ceiling didn't feel like answering. In fact, in all the years Malik had known it, it never had.

"Shut up," Malik told it firmly, just in case it wanted to start, and left, pulling the door shut behind him, steeling himself for the rain's chill.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kaiba Seto eyed his little brother with slight annoyance. The 12-year old was much to awake for 6:30 AM, an hour that had to be cursed by all the gods.

"Seto, Seto!" The boy's tousled locks bounced as he jumped up and down, tugging on his brother's arm. "It's raining, it's raining!"

Both were aquamancers, but leaned towards different sides of the magic. Mokuba liked warm water: hot springs were his favorite. Seto, however, favored ice, snow, and especially glaciers.

Mokuba was still talking. "It's a warm rain this time, not like the day before yesterday." He grinned up at his brother, knowing very well that he liked rain only when it was accompanied by a chill.

"Ch'. Whatever, kid." A rare smile touched Seto's lips as he gently ruffled Mokuba's hair.

Undaunted by his brother's nonchalant attitude, Mokuba snickered. "You're just mad 'cause the rain likes me more."

"Mmhmmm, keep dreaming," Seto smirked.

"Don't worry, I will! I'll dream that you gave me a motorcycle like Malik's. And when I wake up, I know the dream'll come true. _Right_, Seto?"

"Sure, kid. Anything you say," Seto agreed blithely, crossing his fingers behind his back. "Anything you say."

"_Really?!_ So you'll let me get my ears pierced too, like Otogi?"

"Haha... don't even think about it."

"Aww, but _Seto_! Wait... you'll still let me get the motorcycle, right?"

"Mokuba?"

"Yeah, big brother?"

"Be quiet."

"You're no fun!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kujaki Mai's eyes scanned the cafeteria before lighting on 3 new faces half-hidden in shadow. _Mm, nice,_ she appraised mentally. _They look a bit too much like our little Trio over there..._ her eyes flicked to where Yugi and Ryou had just come in. Wait, where was Malik? She shrugged inwardly. Not any of her shit. _...so they're not potential boyfriend material. Well, that sucks ass. They're damn hot._

She flicked a wayward lock of shiny blond hair over her shoulder, and went to sit next to Shizuka, who greeted her with a bright smile.

"Mai! I haven't seen you all weekend! Where've you been?"

"Around," Mai answered vaguely. "You?"

Shizuka's eyes saddened. "I tried getting Ryou to talk to me, but..."

"Yeah, I know. All three of them are stuck in an emotional funk. Heck, I even called my Sexie Blondie 'Malik'! I hope _that_ shows how much we care."

"I'm sure he knows," Shizuka said quickly. "They all know. Hey, Ryou looks all right, though... I can't quite make out Yugi's face."

"It could all just be an act," Mai said warningly. "Remember, Ryou and Malik are the best actors in our class. Yugi, though, he's an open book. Better try him later."

"Yes," Shizuka sighed. "Well, we'll see him in Sectionals. His emotions will affect his magical abilities, too, after all..."

Mai nodded pensively. "You know, I hadn't thought of that... nice thinking."

Shizuka laughed and flapped a hand at her friend. "Spare my blushes," she giggled.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Yugi and Ryou had just seated themselves near a window when the double-doors flew open again, revealing a very irate, very _wet_ Malik. Yugi blinked.

"Uh-oh," he squeaked.

"You know, we really should have thought of the consequences of our actions," Ryou remarked in a light, chatty voice. Then he sighed. "We're in deep shit now..."

"_WHERE ARE MY DEAR, DEAR BROTHERS?!_" Malik roared, flames flickering in his eyes and aura.

("But I though he was a geomancer," a random student muttered.)

Yugi sank in his chair until only the very tips of his crown of hair peeked out from under the table. "Maybe if we stay very still..."

They'd forgotten that the chairs were made of wood. Malik's power invited dead wood to live again, an invitation the maple gladly accepted. Throwing out new, thin branches, they twined about their 2 captives.

"Well now," came Malik's soft voice. "What have we here?"

Ryou groaned. It was going to be an insufferable breakfast.

Malik grinned somewhat sadistically. "It's going to be a looong hour for you two!"

Ryou's eyes snapped open from where they had drifted shut in mock agony. "I called that!"

Yugi blinked again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "Uh..." he said intelligently.

"Maalik," Ryou whined. "Please? We'll be really really good, I promise!"

Malik's eyes twinkled maniacally. "Nope! Not good enough!" he cackled with obvious glee.

"But Malik..."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Across the room, in a somewhat shadowy corner, 3 newcomers watched with interest as the drama unfolded.

"Y'know," Bakura remarked, "They're a lot different than when they were in tears."

"Mm, I like 'em this way better," Mariku purred, ruining it by yawning. "It's a damn cursed hour to be up..."

Yami's half-lidded eyes blinked very slowly, long lashes brushing his skin. "It's only 6:47. They're much too awake. Someone pres the mute button," he said groggily.

Bakura snickered. "Dumbass."

"NOO!"

Their attention snapped back to across the room, where a certain lavender-eyed blond was shaking his head agitatedly.

"Nonono, Yugi, you know _very_ well that the Puppy Eyes are illegal. Ryou make him stop – no, not you, too! This isn't fair! It's cheating!"

the 3 newcomers couldn't see the Puppy Eyes, and didn't know its potency. The watched in disbelief as Malik sat down sulkily into his own chair, muttering darkly, as his magic gently pushed the maple chairs back into sleep.

"All because of _eyes_?!" Bakura nearly shouted. "That's not _right_! I mean, come _on_!"

He tried his own version Puppy Eyes on his 2 brothers. Mariku turned an interesting shade of green. Yami seemed to go into temporary shock.

"Mariku," he stuttered. "Mariku, the monster's scary."

"Oh, I know," the blond returned, with feeling.

Bakura's face turned into a glare. "_What_?" he demanded.

"Well," Mariku said, propping his chin in his hand, "Let's put this bluntly. You looked like a wolf trying to look like... a hamster."

Yami nodded fervently, all traces of sleep gone from his crimson eyes. "It wasn't working."

Enraged, Bakura's mahogany eyes darkened to near black. "Are you saying I'm a _hamster_?"

Ignoring the danger signs, Mariku rolled his eyes. "No, we called you a _wolf_ trying to _act_ like a hamster."

"_I act like a hamster_?!"

Yami growled in impatience. "He just doesn't get it, does he?" he asked, turning to Mariku.

Fortunately, what would most likely have ended up as a bloody mess was interrupted as the clock chimed 7:00:00. Not knowing what this meant, the 3 froze and sat down. They were surprised when a menu popped up in front of each of them.

"Uhh... so are we supposed to order or what?" Mariku asked, looking around.

"Seems so," Yami shrugged. Flipping through, he said, "Oh look, they have American stuff today, too. Tomorrow they have Chinese, and then after that Korean..."

"So basically, everyday they have traditional food as well as something from another nation."

"Yeah."

"Why the hell would they do _that_?"

"Do I look like I know everything?!"

"Well, you sure _act_ like it."

This muttered comment earned Mariku a severe bash on the head. Mariku's head, meet Yami's fist. Fist, meet Head. Everyone, meet Bakura's sadistic laughter.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Mmm..." Mokuba purred, so much like a cat. "That was _really good_..."

"Don't eat too much bacon, you'll get fat," his brother replied absentmindedly. His long fingers typed with practiced ease on his laptop, running his business. Kaiba Corp. sold spells and potions to those with no magic of their own. The first of its kind of business, it had flourished under Seto's watchful eye.

"The new students are kinda scary," Mokuba remarked lazily. "I think they're trying to kill each other. And the look kind of like the Trio, doncha think, Seto?"

No reply.

"_Seto_?"

No reply.

"_Seto_!" This time, emphasized with a kick, the word got through.

"Hm?"

"All that effort, and all I get is a 'hmmm?'?" Mokuba drew out the sound, pouting.

"I'm sorry, kid."

"It's 'kay. Just forget it. I'll tell you later, ok?"

Silence.

"OK?!"

Nothing.

"_OK_?!"

Kick.

"Hm?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Time for Sectionals. Malik slid into a random seat, bored already. Ryou and Yugi weren't in this class. The only person he knew was Mazaki Anzu, and all _she_ was interested in were flowers. Malik made a face just thinking about it.

"Yo," A somewhat familiar voice said, a finger tapping his shoulder. Malik whirled around.

"_Bakura_?!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**There we go. All done. Please review! It just might help me write faster.**


	5. Sectionals

**Wagh! I'm really, really sorry about not updating! But life has just been so incredibly _busy_…**

**Things to keep in mind:**

**There is _heavy meditation_ and _light meditation_. Heavy meditation was what Ryou was doing in the first chapter: You get so involved in the shapes that the strength of the magic needed allows an instant transfer to Spiritheart. Should only be attempted after lots of rest, and when your magic is at full strength. In short, if you are bored. Heavy meditation actually gives magic a boost if you do it properly, but if you try when you're tired, it drains you.**

**Light meditation is simply fiddling around with a few shapes, paying attention to the overall shapes and forgetting about detail.**

**There are 20 different levels of magic. From the day they are born, _magi_ are at level one, when you can basically do nothing. The power is there, but it isn't used. Level 20 is when the _magi_ has perfected his or her abilities to the fullest, and can master all kinds of different spells.**

**_HOWEVER_! There are, as in everything, stronger and weaker people. People with weaker magic _can_ make it to level 20! Levels are based off of _personal magical strength_, not comparison to other people. So, a level 20 _magi_ could still beat a, say, level 10 _magi_ with stronger power, because the level 20 _magi_ has mastered more spells. However, when the level 10 _magi_ has become a level 20 one, then the more powerful one will win. Unless, of course, the stronger one is a complete idiot and doesn't use his brain in a magical fight.**

**Mariku, to put it lightly, _hates_ people who are cold, refined, and altogether icy. Li-sensei has managed to be all three, although his temper is just as bad as any other Pyromancer's. **

**Kurama-sensei wants people with low magical strength to stay at their desks because their magic won't be strong enough to shield them from the plant's effects. He says that no one's reserves should be low, because it's their first class, and if they _are_, they must have been up to some kind of mischief.**

**Bakura respects Kurama so much in this story because… Kurama is a thief as well, in YYH. And also because I wanted it that way…. Heh! **

**And yes! I grabbed names from other series! I will be very impressed if you can tell me where they're from!!!**

**And now…. Enjoy!**

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

As soon as Yugi settled down in his seat, Mai and Shizuka surrounded his desk. He sighed resignedly to himself: he'd known this was going to happen. He prayed to any God that was listening for them to refrain from smothering him this time…

"Yugi, _sweetie_," Mai started out in a slow drawl, leaning… or rather, looming over him, "Would you like to tell us what happened, darling?"

Yugi looked up, and gave a small squeak. Shizuka frowned reprovingly at Mai.

"Now look," she scolded gently. "You scared him, and we don't know anything." She kneeled until she was about eye-level with the petite boy, locking his eyes with hers. "First of all," she said, her voice subtly layered with a truth spell, "Are you all right?"

Yugi hadn't missed the delicate change in her voice. "I feel a lot better than I did before," he answered truthfully. Shizuka's brows knit slightly with frustration: they knew that he was feeling _better_, but how did he _feel_?

"Honey," Mai scowled, "This isn't working. Let's try my way: Yugi, what the fuck happened, and how the hell are you feeling?"

The corners of Yugi's mouth twitched upwards at Mai's beautiful language. "_Something_ happened," he said evasively, "And I feel… empty." He looked up, meeting her mauve eyes squarely with his own. He saw her involuntary shudder at the emotionless look on his face, and looked down again, lashes shielding his eyes from their worried looks.

A soft hand grasped his shoulder, but he didn't look up, knowing who it was. "Yugi," Shizuka sighed, the sadness in her voice obvious, "We only want to help. You know that, don't you?"

He _did_ know, and he loved them for it, but… "I'm not ready, yet," he said firmly, eyes fixed to his desk. "I'll tell you sometime, I really will, but not now?" His anxiety turned his statement into a question.

Shizuka's large eyes softened. "We would _never_ force you, sweetie…"

Yugi made a face; he wanted to lighten the mood. "Don't call me 'sweetie'," he muttered, mouth twisting mock-angrily.

Mai laughed again, sultry tones mixing with her naturally warm voice. "But Yugi, _darling_… you're just _too_ marvelous!"

"Mai, you seem to have mistaken me for one who is not immune to your charms," Yugi said dryly. It was true: hordes upon hordes of lovesick boys, and a few girls as well, chased after Mai… not that she did anything to stop them.

"_People! Sit down!_"

The Aeromancer who taught this division of Sectionals was not a particularly patient person. Fuuko-sensei did _not_ tolerate talking, and if you weren't in your seat by the time she started role call…

"Good morning, class!" Fuuko-sensei chirped.

_My, someone's in a good mood today,_ Yugi thought wryly. _Mm… wonder what happened?_

"Now, as you all probably noticed at breakfast, we have a few new students today. As Aeromancers, we will strive to make the best impression, as none of them are in our Section. It is our goal, no, our _duty_ to make them see that we are supreme! Aeromancers will dominate!"

Yugi sighed, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. Fuuko-sensei was very competitive, and could get slightly carried away…

After she got herself back under control, Fuuko-sensei smiled brightly at her class. "We're going to learn something new to do with wind, today," she said, excitement in her voice. "I don't expect any of you to master it; it's really quite difficult. But we're going to attempt, anyways.

"Most of you have already worked with small puffs of air, and breezes.. correct?"

Her students nodded, or murmured a quiet, "Yes, Fuuko-sensei."

"Good. What we're going to try today is a good deal more difficult. We are going to try to get the wind to a very manageable level. Today you will refine your control. Lack of finesse, and not paying attention to detail, can get you killed in a _magi_ battle, do you understand me?"

They all nodded.

"When we get outside, you will each summon a small breeze to you. A _breeze_, understand? Not a wind. Now scat. Find one, and find a secluded spot and sit down."

They all obeyed. Yugi breathed in a gulp of fresh air as he stepped outside. The rain had gone, but the ground was still soppy, and his shoes sank into the mud.

_Find a breeze._

Find a breeze, eh? He could do that. He closed his eyes, reaching out magically for the innumerable winds that wove themselves through the air. He paused, before snagging a particularly mild one, blowing warm air from the southeast.

He opened his eyes, his hand slightly curved as the air twined around his fingers affectionately. Now, to find a good spot to sit down… his eyes lit on a willow tree, it's weeping branches trailing along the ground. He walked over, and sighed a little. The pants he was wearing would be useless, now. The grime of the mud would ruin them.

Fuuko-sensei found him there a few minutes later. "Wonderful, Yugi," she said, voice soft, and soothing. "Now, hold onto your breeze" he obeyed, "and feel yourself slowly, slowly, falling into that. It never stops going… you never touch the same part of the wind twice. It is constantly moving. Do you understand, so far?"

Yugi nodded, his eyes half-lidded.

"Fantastic. Now, feel the magic inside…"

Yugi reached, and grabbed at his magic. Child's play.

"And weave it into your breeze."

_What?_

He nearly dropped both magic and wind in his surprise. He opened his eyes fully, tightening his grip lest both things fall from his grasp. "That's not _possible_!" he gasped.

Fuuko-sensei's eyes laughed at him. "No, Yugi," she soothed. "It's not possible for a _magi_ to become physically connected to the wind: no. But if you twist your magic around the wind, you will see what the wind sees. You will hear the conversations that the wind picks up. Go on, try." She sighed, suddenly, her brows drawing together. "At least you're not just _blindly_ accepting answers like everyone else does," she huffed. "That trust will get you all killed some day. Never trust anyone who hasn't proven themselves, understand me?"

Yugi nodded absently, his mind fumbling with this new trick. Weave his magic around the breeze…

From the circle of shifting violet inside him, he called out a slender thread. Directing it slowly, cautiously, he twisted it around the ever-flowing air trapped in his other hand. They began to merge, and Yugi relaxed slightly, barely noticing Fuuko-sensei's departure to find her other students in their various hiding places.

All at once, everything snapped into focus. He saw so many things at once… he was glad he had chosen a calmer wind, because even this pace was nearly too fast for his eyes and ears.

As the wind blew past things, he saw whatever it saw. Images flashed past too quickly, but somehow he knew what he saw. There was Ryou, sitting on a pond – wait, _on_ a pond? There was no time to ponder this, however, as more images assaulted his eyes.

The sounds that reached his sensitive ears were also confusing.

"No, _no_, Anzu! We're doing poison ivy today, not daisies…"

"Jounochi, put that flame away at once. Mr. Kaiba, what exactly is it that you need in the Pyromancer section?"

Yugi grimaced at that last image. Jou had looked furious… what had Kaiba done _this_ time?

_Hello, my darlings._

Fuuko-sensei's voice rang through Yugi's head and he jumped slightly. _What in all the Gods' name is she…_

_I'm contacting you all this way because it takes far too much time to get to each of you individually. Oh, come now, _she frowned at them mentally, _You couldn't have thought that the weaving was it? Much too easy. We're learning to focus today, remember?_

_Everyone, concentrate on your breeze. Learn to control its flow. Mai, yours for example: it's coming down from the North. See if you can turn it around, and make it **go** North, instead. Don't try to force it, though! It won't work. Air can be very temperamental sometimes. Don't wear yourselves out, either… it'll drain your magic, and we don't want that happening, do we?_

Change the wind's direction? Ah. Now Yugi understood why she had said most of them wouldn't understand it. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself for this new task.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The Aquamancer Section had gone outside as well, but they were on the other side of the building. The North end of the gigantic lawn was filled with small lakes and ponds, a few of them containing goldfish, and a few containing more dangerous creatures. Those with such beasts were spelled to keep curious or ignorant students away, and creatures inside.

Ryou's favorite pond was tucked away in a corner, with white water lilies floating inside. They bloomed all year, impervious to weather, courtesy of Malik.

Today's lesson was simple, light meditation. _And I need it, too,_ Ryou thought wryly as he stepped lightly onto the water's surface. He had not forgotten how his magic had broken free of his control. He allowed himself to close his eyes for a blessed moment; balancing on water had a calming, soothing effect. It was… indescribable.

Padding gently to the pond's center, he sat down cross-legged, getting comfortable before opening his eyes wide and focusing on nothing and everything all at once. Some people liked to meditate with their eyes closed, but Ryou liked his open. It was so beautiful to see the world slowly fade, until all he could see was seen only by his mind, while his physical eyes stayed wide open.

Ryou started to sink into his core, approaching the familiar aquamarine hue of his magic that was edged with a soft feathery white. Was it just him, or did it seem a little more purple, today…?

Putting it out of his mind – now was not the time for questions – he slowly sank into the magic, feeling it close around him. He was encased in a lovely bubble of water-colored magic, and now the fun began.

Somehow, the non-_magi_ had gotten it into their minds that meditation was just sitting and doing nothing. And Ryou supposed that of course, that was what it looked like to them, but…

Meditation was so much more. Ryou gently guided the bubble of magic around him into a lotus petal form, and then into a waterfall pattern. His magical self slid down the waterfall delightedly, before turning the waterfall into a teardrop.

Meditation was used to teach discipline. By mastering different shapes, _magi_ would be able to judge their level of magic. By the time you were able to form a perfect, detailed animal, you would be allowed to graduate.

Ryou was far from it, but still much farther ahead than his classmates, with the exception of Kaiba. He could manage a fairly decent starfish, but its lack of detail and finesse told him that he still had a ways to go.

A small puff of air gently brushed against his physical neck, and Ryou's wide-open eyes blinked as he returned to the waking world.

Checking his watch, he found that it was time to head back to the big lake, where Fanta-sensei was. Just thinking of her, Ryou shook his head with awe. She had projected her aura for them, once, to show them what her animal had been. It had been quite simple: a mere goldfish, but each and every scale could be accounted for. The flowing tail and fins accentuated the creature's natural beauty.

As Ryou reached the lake, he saw the usually unruffled teacher frowning in displeasure. "Have you seen Seto anywhere?" she asked him.

Ryou shook his head, and she growled. "You go on and change," she told him. "Your clothes are soaked. Well, you could just ask the water to get out, too, of course, but I'm afraid it'll wrinkle…"

Her voice trailed off distractedly as she craned her neck in other directions. Ryou hid a smile. The teacher was rather short…

"I'm off, then," he said, bowing to her politely. "Good day, Fanta-sensei."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The Pyromancers weren't having much success. Tempers were running high because of the rain, and the strain of having to be polite for the 2 new students was wearing patience thin.

Finally, Li-sensei slammed his hand down on his table, hard. The resulting boom echoed through the room. As his liquid amber eyes looked at his students, they saw flames dancing in their depths, and sulkily quieted down.

"I would have expected more from Pyromancers," Li-sensei said, voice cold, and chilling. "The rain has affected your temperaments: I know this. However, that is no excuse. You will each practice light meditation for at least an hour tonight before bed. I will know if you have not."

Unlike Aeromancers and Aquamancers, the other two Sections of magic did not find meditation nearly as enjoyable. Unlike them, Pyromancers and Geomancers wanted to move around, not sit and fiddle with shapes. Thus, meditation was a just punishment, indeed.

"Now, our new students. Welcome to our Section." Li-sensei nodded curtly at Yami and Mariku. "You will stand up and recite your names, ages, and levels."

It was not a question. It was a command.

Yami was filled with respect for this teacher. He draped an air of power around him like a cloak, demanding respect and attention. A quick glance at Mariku, however, proved to him that his brother thought the teacher was, to put it mildly, a little stiff.

Yami stood up as directed, Mariku following his example huffily a second later. "My name is Yami," he said, noting the teacher's nod of approval at not using his last name. He could tell that Li-sensei liked being mysterious, even though one's last name had nothing to do with magic.

"I am 17, and I am at level 12."

A few whispers circulated the room. Magic was judged on a scale of 1-20, and the average level for a 17-year-old was level 10. _Magi_ were supposed to reach level 20 by age 24: at this rate, this newcomer might finish at age 20.

Mariku lifted his chin defiantly and met the teacher's eyes squarely. "Mariku, 17, level 12."

"Ah," Li-sensei said mildly. "It seems you are a bit ahead."

Mariku fumed inwardly. This son of a bitch needed to take the stick out of his ass and get laid sometime soon.

Yami placed a hand on Mariku's shoulder after they both sat back down. _Leave it_, the gesture said.

The door swung open before class could even start, and Kaiba Seto walked in. He stopped at Jounochi's desk, and smirked icily.

"Hello, mutt."

As expected, Jou's already strained temper snapped. "You _mother fucking jackass_…" he began furiously as balls of fire burst from his fingertips. "You already _fucking_ know that the rain _pissed me off_, so _leave me the hell alone, today, got that_?!"

Li-sensei's eyebrows rose delicately. "Jounochi, put that flame away at once. Mr. Kaiba, what exactly is it that you need in the Pyromancer section?"

Kaiba's cold, azure eyes darkened. "I need a reason?" he snapped.

Li-sensei's mouth quirked in a dark smile. "Ah. That means you skipped. You know Fanta-sensei doesn't like that…"

"Do I look like I care?" Kaiba asked.

"Would you just get the hell out of here?" Jou demanded angrily, tired of being ignored.

"Aww, puppy," Kaiba crooned. "You don't want me here?"

Jou's temper ricocheted out of control. His entire desk erupted in flames.

Yami sat back and watched, quite amused. It didn't seem that he would learn much, on his first day, but he could live with that. He might as well enjoy the show.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Malik was still in shock. "_Bakura_?" he sputtered. "But you… here? What?"

Bakura smirked at his cousin's astounded expression. "Aren't you happy to see me?" he teased, mocha colored eyes narrowing as he smirked.

Malik was immediately defensive. "I never said that," he shot back.

"Whoa, down, little hellcat," Bakura snickered lazily.

"Hmph," Malik growled, although inwardly pleased. Bakura, he knew, was a _very_ good potion maker, and Isis had inadvertently hinted that he specialized in poisons.

"Mm…" a too feminine voice purred. "And who is this?"

Malik rolled his eyes before plastering a wide smile on his face and turning around to face Mazaki Anzu. "My cousin," he told her shortly, voice clipped.

"I see," Anzu smiled slowly, attempting to be seductive. Bakura was about ready to get a knife out. Malik wasn't much better: he had always been slightly more temperamental than Geomancers were supposed to be, and Anzu had been trying to snag him for more than a year. She would annoy Bakura that way, too… over his dead body.

"Mazaki," Malik said, straining his fading smile a little wider, "Could you, ah, talk to us some other time? We're trying to discuss something right now –"

"Ahh!" she squealed.

_Uh-oh,_ said Malik's mind.

"Is that a _date_, Malik?" she asked, blue eyes wide.

"N-no!" he stuttered, but was interrupted by a quiet, "Sit down, class."

Kurama-sensei radiated a sense of mystery and an air of quiet command. When he gave an order, it was obeyed.

His green eyes swept the classroom and came to rest on Bakura. "It seems we have a new student," he said mildly. "Your name, please?"

Bakura regarded the teacher with a level stare. He was clearly very powerful, and his name was well known throughout the magical world. "Bakura," he answered after a pause, having assessed that this person was worth answering.

"In case you wanted to know, I'm 17 and at level 12."

Kurama-sensei nodded at this information. "Thank you," he said simply.

Bakura's esteem of his teacher was slowly growing. He didn't waste time on unnecessary words, a quality that Bakura valued. As he walked slowly from the back of the classroom to the front, his steps made no sound. Bakura was impressed in spite of himself.

"Today, we learn how to grow poison ivy, as well as its antidote. We'll start with poison ivy: everyone should come here and obtain a leaf from me. If your magical reserves are low, which they _shouldn't_ be, then stay put. I'll deal with you later."

The class slowly stood up. A blue haired boy stayed at his desk, a frown marring his face. Malik didn't care: he didn't know the guy personally, and it wasn't any of his business, anyways.

The class, each with a leaf, regenerated the rest of the plant. Bakura almost yawned… this was too easy. A sigh from Kurama-sensei recaptured his attention.

"_Anzu_," he was saying exasperatedly. "_No, no, no!_ We're doing poison ivy today, not daisies! You cannot continue to focus only on the beauty of plants, although I know they are very attractive. But it will not help you later."

Anzu pouted. Malik groaned very quietly. Kurama-sensei's eyes flicked at him, amusement reflected in their murky depths.

_This is going to take a while_….

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**All good!**


End file.
